Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, RFID Center of Excellence

RFID is a technology that allows products and assets to be "tagged" and uniquely identified, located, and tracked using radio waves.  RFID is a paradigm-shifting technology with significant challenges and opportunities.  RFID tags will eventually be found in all types of consumer goods and industrial equipment.  Wal-Mart, Target, and the United States Department of Defense all have mandates requiring their largest vendors to ship pallets and cases of material with attached RFID tags.   These mandates will soon include 100 percent of their vendors and the requirements will quickly trickle through the supply chain.  Businesses will need to adopt RFID technology not only to satisfy customer requirements but also to increase productivity to stay competitive.  

The RFID Center of Excellence at Penn State Behrend was established in early 2005 as a collaborative initiative with the Center for E-Business and Advanced IT (eBizITPA).   The mission of the center is to conduct RFID research and outreach resulting in strategic advantage and economic growth for industry. 


Objectives:

  • Assist businesses (manufacturers, distributors, retailers) to implement RFID technology in order to increase productivity, reduce costs, and prepare for supply chain customer compliance (e.g. Wal-Mart, DOD, etc).
  • Assist information technology providers to attain RFID expertise and to develop RFID implementation offerings which would include both software development and implementation services.
  • Conduct and coordinate applied research in the areas of RFID technology and the application to supply chain management.
  • Facilitate sharing of RFID knowledge base among higher education faculty.
  • Integrate RFID technology into Penn State Behrend engineering and business school curriculum.
  • Disseminate knowledge of RFID technologies through educational outreach.
  • Provide prototype-test services for customized application.

Copyright © 2006 - RFID Center of Excellence
Penn State Behrend - 5091 Station Road, Erie, PA 16563